Interview Questions by Competency

Ability to Lead
● Have you ever had to “sell” an idea to your coworkers or group? How did you
do it? What were the results?
● Describe a situation where you needed to use persuasion to convince
someone to see things your way. What steps did you take? What were
the results?
● Give me an example of a time when you felt you led by example. What did you
do and how did others react?
● Tell me about the last time something significant didn’t go according to plan
that you/your team was responsible for. What was your role? What was the
outcome?
Judgment & Prioritization
● Describe the most productive team you’ve been a part of. How did you
contribute to the team?What were the results?
● Tell me about a time when you had to juggle several projects at the same time.
How did you organize your time? What happened as a result?
● Describe a time when you volunteered to expand your knowledge at work, as
opposed to being directed to do so. How did you seek out the opportunity?
What were the results?
● Recall a time when your manager or supervisor was unavailable when a
problem arose. What was the nature of the problem? How did you handle that
situation? What happened as a result?
● Tell me about a time you were in unfamiliar territory at work. What did you to
do adjust?
● Walk me through a typical day in your current role. How do you
prioritize your day?
● How do you balance incoming requests with proactive work?
Interview Questions by Competency
Achievements & Impact

● What do you consider your greatest accomplishment? How did you achieve
this? What was the outcome?
● Tell me about the most challenging situation you’ve faced, and what actions
you took. What was the outcome?
● What was your most significant accomplishment in your previous role? How
did you achieve this? What was the impact?
● Describe a decision you made that really created a competitive advantage for
your business?What action did you take? What were the results?
● Tell me about a time where your work had a substantial impact on the
team/project/business?
● Tell me about a project you played an important role on? Why were you
selected to be a part of it?
Work Relationships
● Tell me about one of your favorite professional team experiences? How did the
team demonstrate its strength? What was your contribution to the team effort?
● What do you think your colleagues would say about you?
● Do you have a mentor or a mentee? How do you set up meetings with them?
Do you use an agenda? What do you hope to achieve in a mentoring
relationship either as a mentor or mentee?
● Describe the best partner or supervisor with whom you’ve worked. What part
of their managing style appealed to you?
● Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to
get along with. Why was this person difficult? How did you handle interactions
with that person?
Interview Questions by Competency
Accountability

● Without discussing the particular decision, have you ever worked with a client
who was pursuing a project or objective that you didn’t think was the right
thing to do? How did you address your concerns? What was the result?
● Have you ever had a situation where you were working with someone who did
not seem motivated to get the work done? How did you handle it? What was
the source of demotivation? Did the job get done?
● Have you been assigned a task that you thought was challenging? What steps
do you take in developing a plan of action? What was the result?
● Tell me about a time when you delivered more than was expected. What
motivated you in this particular case? Were your extraordinary efforts noticed
by your managers or peers? What was the feedback?
● Assume you got this job, what is the example of something you could do in
that role to beat expectations?
Growth and Learning
● When was the last occasion you asked for direct feedback from a superior?
Why did you seek this information?
● Describe a time that you volunteered to expand your knowledge at work, as
opposed to being directed to do so? How do you manage to accomplish the
things you want to achieve with the things you must achieve?
● Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate yourself
from a difficult situation. How did you approach the situation? What was the
reaction?
● Recall a time from your work experience when your manager or supervisor was
unavailable when a problem arose. How did you handle that situation? With
whom did you consult?
● Tell me about your career ambitions? How does this role help you get there?
● Tell me about a time you failed. What happened? How did you get past it?
● What’s your biggest learning from your past mistakes?
● How has your approach changed from when you started in
your career to today?
Interview Questions by Competency
Integrity
● Have you ever worked with a client that you didn’t trust to do the right thing?
How did you handle the situation? Did you discuss your concerns directly with
the person?
● Tell me about a time when you were on a team that had to make an uncertain
decision where there was a possibility of adverse public reaction. How did you
manage the situation? How did you escalate the situation?
● Have you ever faced a situation when you had to take a longer way of doing
something in order to adhere to proper professional standards? Did others
disagree with your assessment of the situation? If so, how did you handle it?

Collaboration
● Give an example of a time when you were working on a project and had
difficulty getting cooperation from a group outside of your team that was vital
to the completion of the project. How did you go about requesting the
assistance?
● Tell me about a time when you gave a presentation or held a meeting where it
was important to influence someone’s opinion. How did you prepare? What
was the outcome?
● Tell of a time when your active listening skills really paid off for you, maybe a
time when other people missed the key idea being expressed. Were you able
to communicate these details to those who may have missed them?
Process Development
● Tell me about a time you saw a gap in process and put something in place to
address it?
● Tell me how you’ve run Executive/Quarterly Business reviews in the past?
Interview Questions by Competency
Cultural
● Tell me about a time when you had influence without authority? Who? Why
didn’t you have authority?
● Tell me about a time when you were influenced by a mentee or junior peer?
● Tell me about a time when you didn’t have clear direction and how you moved
or didn’t move forward. (looking for people who stop and do not move forward
and those who find answers and move)?
● Tell me about a time when you rejected your “gut feeling”
for data driven next steps?
● Tell me about a time you experience diversity of thought in a team?
● Tell me about a time you had to push back using data driven information to
influence a SME?
● Tell me about a culture that empowered you?
● Tell me about a culture that disempowered you?
● Describe to me how you’ve handled conflict with your co-workers?
● How do you receive feedback the best?
● Describe the management style you like best? And least?

Metrics
● How are you being measured in your current role?
● How do you measure success at your current company?
● How have you set goals in the past?

Tolerance for Ambiguity

● Should your job tasks always be clear?
● Is it more fun to tackle easy problems or complex ones?
● Many of our most important decisions are made with insufficient information.
Would you agree/disagree with this statement and why?